MTN was a charter member of UANI's Iran Business Registry, launched in 2009, and has been a continuing focus of our telecommunications campaign. Simply put, MTN has blood on its hands.

MTN is the primary partner of the Iranian regime's mobile telecommunications systems, as a 49% shareholder in MTN Irancell, the rest of which is owned by the regime itself. MTN has carried out orders from the regime to shut off text messaging and Skype during times of political protest, and reportedly has a floor in its Tehran headquarters where Iranian military officials compile and access tracking data. That data has been used to track, apprehend, torture, and kill regime opponents.

The United States should take immediate action to sanction MTN for its deadly partnership with the Iranian regime. We hope Mr. Plouffe will use his considerable influence to urge President Obama to sanction MTN and most importantly enact a full economic blockade on Iran, so that companies like MTN will no longer be able to operate there.

Congress should immediately take steps to enact an economic embargo of the Iranian regime. Legislation imposing such an embargo should be modeled on the following UANI proposal: any business, firm, or entity that provides services to or enables or facilitates access to services in Iran and/or with any Iranian-controlled entity, shall be barred from receiving U.S. government contracts, accessing U.S. capital markets, entering into commercial partnerships with U.S. entities, or otherwise doing business in the U.S. or with U.S. entities.